Ultragene Warlord

Chapter 979: The Creation of Life

In the past, Zhang Hanxiang had been incapable of becoming a hunter. She had been trapped in a wheelchair, and now that she was free, all her pent-up emotions were slowly bubbling forth.

Zhang Lie earnestly advised, "As the commander, you should stay behind your troops. If anything were to happen to you, it'd be a devastating blow to the warriors you command."

Zhang Hanxiang replied, "But Hong Xi's there to help me! I might as well be a vase, just there to look pretty—but I'd much rather be like you, Brother, and fight against the death spirits with you!"

Zhang Lie turned to Hong Xi. "Why didn't you stop my sister? You even joined her!"

"I tried, Master, but I couldn't stop her."

Zhang Hanxiang raised her head. "Brother, I want to fight as a hunter. When will I ever get the chance to participate in such a mythical war again? It would be pointless for me to be a vase on the battlefield, surrounded and protected by the draconian world's forces. You surely want to see me develop as a hunter, don't you?"

Despite himself, Zhang Lie was starting to be convinced by his sister's arguments. It was true that his sister would need to develop as a fighter, or she really would become nothing more than a pretty vase.

"If you insist, I won't deny you this opportunity. Make sure to be careful, and don't go too crazy," Zhang Lie warned, sighing.

He couldn't spend too much time speaking with Zhang Hanxiang and Hong Xi—he had many affairs to take care of.

"Hong Xi, deal with the troops. I'll be meeting with the other commanders of the superior worlds' forces." Zhang Lie soared through the air and vanished from sight.

Hong Xi nodded as she began to make arrangements for the alien forces.

After the battle, the shattered battlefield was destroyed to such an extent that it couldn't even be described as 'shattered' anymore—more like 'obliterated'. This was the result of the might that the superior worlds had displayed.

Zhang Lie stood still before a patch of void. Shortly afterwards, the frost spirit commander, who had finished delegating his own responsibilities, arrived. "I didn't expect you would be the first one here."

Zhang Lie shrugged. "I left everything to my trustworthy subordinates."

Not long after the frost spirit commander's arrival, a figure glowing in gold, with shining armor and glittering golden hair, floated toward them. A golden blaze followed his every step, as though his path had constructed a bridge arcing toward the void from far away. Zhang Lie recognized the figure as the captain of the solar corps.

The captain scrutinized Zhang Lie. "You must be from the newly evolved superior world. Aren't you going to introduce yourself?"

Zhang Lie spread his arms. "Why don't you introduce yourself first? It's basic courtesy, I should think."

The captain of the solar corps chuckled coldly. "Didn't you read up on your allies in battle before participating in the war?"

Zhang Lie remained unperturbed. "I'm familiar with the various superior kings, but who are you?"

The frost spirit commander chuckled to himself from the side.

The captain of the solar corps clasped both hands behind his back and puffed out his chest. "I'm the solar god's right-hand man. You can call me the warlord of sun."

"A warlord?"

"Indeed!" The captain of the solar corps nodded proudly.

Zhang Lie tutted to himself. "The world of blazing sun must have rather low requirements for being deemed a warlord, then. I'd expect even my dog could be considered a warlord."

The frost spirit commander commented idly, "I feel the same way. Can't anyone from the world of blazing sun become a warlord?"

"A warlord, you say? You must have used your connections to get this position. Just how are you related to the solar king?"

The captain of the solar corps immediately grew incensed. Golden light blazed from his body, spreading to and concentrating in his hair, which extended down his body like radiant golden flames.

A sun manifested behind him. He extended his left hand, and a golden greatsword appeared in his grip. It was a construct of energy, but it looked and felt as though it were formed of gold.

The frost spirit commander warned, "Warlord of Sun, I'm warning you now, we're allies at the moment. If you strike your allies, you're ignoring the truce that stands between us all—and I won't side with you when your reckoning comes."

The frost spirit commander made his attitude clear. If the captain of the solar corps were to do anything, he and Zhang Lie would ally against him.

"Oh? What's going on here to make our dear warlord of sun so mad?"

An alien figure approached. Its thick lips; pale yellow skin with large pores; coarse, curly hair; and thin, unusual ears gave the impression of a mountain goat. The lower half of its body was a mess of feelers and a tail.

The captain of the solar corps snorted as he stowed his weapon away. If he were to strike now, he would be branded a traitor, an ally of the death spirits—and he certainly didn't think he could survive against the combined assault of the other commanders.

Zhang Lie asked, "Your aura feels like that of the king of keys. You must be his subordinate, aren't you?"

The captain of the solar corps sneered. "You know nothing at all, don't you? You were simply lucky to have evolved your world right before this calamity—otherwise, you would never have succeeded. You don't even recognize his highness."

"His highness?"

The frost spirit commander explained, "He's the son of the king of keys."

"The king of keys can produce heirs?!" Zhang Lie was stupefied.

The king of keys wasn't a biological lifeform—at its heart, the king of keys was a manifestation of a will of the world.

Either the will of the world had somehow gained intelligence of its own, or that intelligence represented remnants of the king's mind upon fusing himself to the will of the world. No matter what, after meeting the king of keys for himself, Zhang Lie was confident that it was no living being. It could be considered the amalgamation of a million worlds, or even a gate or portal to those worlds—but it wasn't alive.

For such an entity to produce a son, especially one who seemed like a chimera of various alien species, was undoubtedly shocking to Zhang Lie. How could such an event take place?

The captain of the solar corps frowned. "What are you trying to imply? Your words show great disrespect to the king of keys. Don't make me report you!"

Zhang Lie didn't care. The king of keys was strong, but not so strong that Zhang Lie feared it.

Fighting against the king of keys would be interesting, at least...

The captain of the solar corps grew even more angry upon seeing Zhang Lie's unperturbed expression.

The king of keys waved a hand. "It's not an issue. After all, he's not my birth father."

"An adopted son?"

Zhang Lie didn't expect to be able to hear such juicy gossip during this meeting.

The captain of the solar corps hurriedly said, "Your highness, there's no such thing! The king of keys itself acknowledged your status as prince, which makes you equivalent to its biological son. It doesn't matter how you were birthed."

Zhang Lie turned toward the frost spirit commander with an inquiring look in his eyes.

The frost spirit commander sighed and explained, "His highness Wilbow was created as part of the king of keys' attempt to understand the meaning of life."

Zhang Lie was shaken once more. The king of keys was able to create life? Wasn't that in the territory of gods?

The frost spirit commander continued, "In order to understand the origin of life, the king of keys molded his highness from flesh and blood, then lit his spark of life using a superior world's energy."

Zhang Lie's astonishment receded.

The king of keys hadn't created life out of nothing, but instead of flesh and blood. The former was the domain of gods, but the latter wasn't too difficult to accomplish with arcane knowledge.